GST raids on coaching institute chain

(GST) commissionerate have seized cash and documents worth Rs 62.95 lakh after carrying out a series of raids in six premises belonging to a prominent coaching centre chain providing coaching in defence and other government-conducted competitive exams.

Sources said that the teams started the search of the chain’s premises on Thursday and completed all formalities by Friday evening. “The firm was under the radar for the last six months and out department was keeping a track of their business transactions. The teams have recovered several incriminating documents. The exact evasion of the GST would be ascertained after the scrutiny of all the documents but the amount is expected to be in crores,” said an official involved in the raids.

The institute, owned by businessman Sandeep Kumar Gupta, offers a range of courses for which students were charged between Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000. “The records of the different branches of the institute reveal that 3250 students were enrolled for different coaching classes but the fee collection details has only 500 students. This means the GST component of several enrolled students was not paid at all,” said the official.